There was a glaring absence from the Boston Red Sox offense in their three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Following an 8-2 loss Thursday, the Red Sox left PNC Park without registering a single home run in the series.
The power outage at the plate isn’t all that surprising since the Red Sox have relied more on extra-base hits that stay in the ballpark than the traditional long ball this season. But that makes it hard to generate consistent offense, and Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez believes the lineup is capable of more.
“It’s really not our m.o. I think,” Martinez told reporters of the lack of homers, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “That’s the game plan. … It’s a potent lineup. Essentially we got three guys in the middle of the order that really drive the ball, and really kind of aren’t doing that right now. It’s kind of just making it one of those offenses that are station to station right now. As an offense, I believe we’re underperforming.”
The Red Sox, who didn’t a great offensive approach in the series finale against the Pirates, rank 19th in the league in home runs. The Red Sox have only three players — Rafael Devers, Trevor Story and Bobby Dalbec — with double-digit round-trippers on the season, and the lineup doesn’t feature Dalbec on an everyday basis since the acquisition of Eric Hosmer while Story has been sidelined since July 12.
Instead of going yard, Boston’s offense is rooted in their ability to record doubles as they lead the league in that category. Red Sox manager Alex Cora doesn’t really see that changing with the home stretch of the season approaching.
“How many games have we played already? We don’t hit too many home runs,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “We hit a lot of doubles. This is who we were are. To score runs, we hit the ball in the gap, we have to run the bases well, we have to control the strike zone. It’s 119 already. The numbers are the numbers. There’s 43 more games in the season and we got to find ways to score runs. I don’t think it’s going to be through the home run.”
